Hippie Heyday: The Ultimate Flower Power Quiz

In the mid-1960s, the hippie counterculture developed in the United States, initially focused around civil rights demonstrations and anti-Vietnam War protests. Hippies' antiviolent, free love ethos sprang from the concept of "flower power," which advocated for peace, not war. Test your knowledge of the hippie heyday in American history with the Flower Power Quiz from HowStuffWorks.com.

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Question 1 of 20

Which beatnik poet popularized the flower power concept of nonviolent antiwar protesting?

Allen Ginsberg

Beat poet and counterculture leader Allen Ginsberg propagated the "flower power" concept while helping organize a November 1965 protest against the Vietnam War in Berkeley, Calif.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Gary Snyder

Question 2 of 20

What city became flower power central in the 1960s?

New York

San Francisco

San Francisco and its Haight-Ashbury district became the unofficial capitol of flower power and the hippie movement, culminating with the 1967 Summer of Love.

London

Question 3 of 20

In addition to flowers, Ginsberg encouraged antiwar demonstrators to bring other items to the Vietnam War protests, including what?

Heart-shaped badges

Stuffed animals

Candy bars

Ginsberg suggested protestors also take along a variety of benign objects, including toy soldiers, rubber swords, candy bars, instruments and crosses.

Question 4 of 20

In 1967, thousands of hippies gathered together to try to levitate what iconic building?

White House

Pentagon

On Oct. 21, 1967, more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered in Washington D.C. to protest the Vietnam War, and a group of hippies attempted to levitate the Pentagon building. They were, not surprisingly, unsuccessful.

Empire State Building

Question 5 of 20

What music festival marked the highlight of the Summer of Love?

Woodstock

Monterey International Pop Festival

The Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, featuring Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and The Mamas and the Papas, marked the pinnacle of the Summer of Love in San Francisco.

Glastonbury Festival

Question 6 of 20

What event in San Francisco signaled the beginning of the end of the psychedelic lifestyle in the 1960s?

The "Death of the Hippie" parade.

In a public display of disenchantment with the psychedelic lifestyle and the mainstreaming of the hippie movement, a funeral parade mourning the "Death of the Hippie" marched through the Haight-Ashbury district on October 6, 1967.

The death of Allen Ginsberg.

The closing of the Psychedelic Shop in Haight-Ashbury.

Question 7 of 20

What 1967 pop hit became the anthem of the Summer of Love in San Francisco?

"San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie

Flower power came into mainstream America with Scott McKenzie’s 1967 hit "San Francisco." The popular hippie anthem sang "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair."

"Daydream Believer" by the Monkees

"Light My Fire" by The Doors

Question 8 of 20

What did Jimi Hendrix light on fire while performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival?

A joint

An American flag

His guitar

Popular legend maintains that in an attempt to one-up the stage shenanigans of The Who, Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire while performing at the Monterey International Pop Festival.

Question 9 of 20

Who told hippies to "tune in, turn on and drop out" at the 1967 Human Be-In gathering at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park?

Timothy Leary

LSD guru and ex-Harvard professor Timothy Leary famously told the hippie masses at the Human Be-In to "tune in, turn off and drop out," urging them to drop out of school and pursue the psychedelic lifestyle.

Ken Kesey

Allen Ginsberg

Question 10 of 20

What other counterculture group threatened violence against hippies protesting the Vietnam War?

Yippies

Hells Angels

The Hells Angels motorcycle gang supported the Vietnam War and often threatened to shut down antiwar protests by force.

San Francisco Mime Troupe

Question 11 of 20

A Hells Angels member killed a concert goer at a concert for what band?

The Beatles

The Rolling Stones

In 1969, The Rolling Stones hired the Hells Angels as security at their Altamont Free Concert. But when a concert goer got into a scuffle with one of the Hells Angels, the skirmish ended in murder.

The Who

Question 12 of 20

In what year did California criminalize LSD?

1964

1966

As San Francisco became a hub of LSD use in the mid-1960s, California legally banned the drug in October 1966.

1968

Question 13 of 20

San Franciscans started tossing around the label "hippie" in what year?

1953

Originally coined as an insult for people who chased fads, "hippie" began catching on in San Francisco in 1953.

The San Francisco Oracle, which was only published from 1966 to 1968, served as the unofficial paper of the hippie psychedelic lifestyle, featuring articles such as "The Politics of Ecstasy."

Free City

The Rainbow

Question 16 of 20

Along with Allen Ginsberg, what other famous author helped shepherd the early hippie movement?

Tom Wolfe

Ken Kesey

Author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters experimented heavily with psychedelic drugs and organized the Acid Test gatherings. Tom Wolfe documented Kesey's acid antics in his book "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test."

Tom Robbins

Question 17 of 20

Who allegedly coined the 1960s slogan, "Make Love, Not War"?

Timothy Leary

John Lennon

Gershon Legman

Although the origin has been disputed, comedian Gershon Legman claims to have coined the phrase during a 1963 speech at Ohio University.

Question 18 of 20

What popular music magazine released its first issue in 1967?

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone published its first issue on Nov. 9, 1967, featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the cover.

Cream

Spin

Question 19 of 20

What was the popular name for the thousands of young adults who flocked to San Francisco during the Summer of Love?

Hippies

Flower children

Riffing the line "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair," from Scott Mackenzie's 1967 hit "San Francisco," people referred to the San Francisco transplants as flower children.

Yippie

Question 20 of 20

What seminal psychedelic rock 'n' roll album of the 1960s was released in 1967?

The Beatles: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Just in time for the Summer of Love, The Beatles released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in June 1967.